An equal pay claim has been launched on behalf of supermarket workers at the Co-op. The case, the biggest-ever equal pay claim in the UK private sector, is being heard over two days with the justices listening to the arguments over video. Law firm Leigh Day is reviewing a decision made yesterday (Wednesday, 14th October) by the Employment Tribunal that a job evaluation... October 8, 2020. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Judges are preparing to consider the latest leg of a long-running equal pay dispute between Asda and supermarket workers. They just got away with it.”. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Depot staff are paid more than supermarket staff – between 80p and £3 per hour difference depending on geographic location. You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. The Asda employees are being represented by the law firm Leigh Day, which was instructed by the GMB union. endy Arundale worked at the Asda store on North Street, Middlesbrough for 32 years, two weeks and one day before retiring, aged 63, in July 2019. Our legal partners, Leigh Day, are currently representing hundreds of ASDA checkout operatives. “The different types of establishment operate in different geographical locations, in different industries and with different pay-setting processes,” Pannick said. “Our hourly rates of pay in stores are the same for male and female colleagues and this is equally true in our distribution centres. ... July 2020. By Ashleigh Webber on 13 Jul 2020 in Retail, Employment law, Latest News, Case law, Equal pay Shutterstock The long-running equal pay dispute between Asda and its shop-floor staff is to be considered by the Supreme Court this week. ... that would only be if all 500,000 store workers made a claim. More than 100 Co-op shop floor workers are seeking up to six years of back pay in the latest equal pay claim being brought against a major supermarket. “It was a wind-up,” he shouts in the background of our phone conversation. But judges have already ruled in favour of the workers at an employment tribunal, a tribunal appeal and then again by Court of Appeal judges in 2019. More than 30,000 Asda store workers, most of whom are women, have brought equal pay claims after complaining that staff working in distribution depots unfairly get more money. By Ashleigh Webber on 24 Jan 2020 in Gender, Retail, Latest News, Equal pay. By Ashleigh Webber on 13 Jul 2020 in Retail, Employment law, Latest News, Case law, Equal pay Shutterstock The long-running equal pay dispute between Asda and its shop-floor staff is to be considered by the Supreme Court this week. Asda bosses wait for ruling in Supreme Court equal pay fight UK News Published: Jul 14, 2020 Store workers have brought claims after complaining that staff in … This site uses cookies. If the workers are successful, they are seeking six years of backdated pay from the retailer, from the date of their claim, meaning some workers would be able to claim backdated pay for a longer period. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Now, in her second year of retirement – in between training her award-winning Saluki Collie dog on the agility course – Arundale has found herself on the other side of the brand PR war as part of a 38,000-strong group of employees taking on the Leeds-headquartered supermarket in the Supreme Court. Judges are preparing to consider the latest leg of a long-running equal pay dispute between Asda and supermarket workers. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. We aren’t back in the 18th century, we’re 20th-century people, why are we being treated so unequally? Are you sure you want to delete this comment? That women would come speak to their favourite customers, or earn some money for fripperies... it’s so outdated,” he says. “Historically I think they thought they could get away with not paying women as much,” he says, which – without a brand willing to pay the large tab for subsequent adjustment – has led to the current situation. The former journalist earned the same as other workers on the shop floor – £9.18 per hour. The case, the biggest-ever equal pay claim in the UK private sector, is being heard over two days with the justices listening to the arguments over video. The justices are not expected to deliver a ruling until later in the year. Posted at 16:49 25 Nov 2020 16:49 25 Nov 2020 Low-paid public sector workers to get £250 pay rise Pay will be frozen for at least 1.3 million public sector staff, … Monkstown Asda store decision expected Belfast News Letter 17:20 15-Jan-21 Tesco, Asda and Aldi lose out in cheapest British supermarket study Lancs Live 16:20 15-Jan-21 Asda shopper 'did not feel safe' in store after seeing staff and customers 'flouting' covid rules Liverpool Echo 16:19 15-Jan-21 Leigh Day is a partnership which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). More than 30,000 employees at the supermarket chain, most of whom are women, have brought equal pay claims after complaining that staff working in distribution depots unfairly get more money. It comes as retail workers claiming unequal pay at Asda overcame the latest hurdle in their legal battle. It would also undoubtedly cause ripples throughout the industry. The workers were hopeful they would win the fight, said Lauren Lougheed, a specialist in employment law at Leigh Day, and wanted to prove once and for all that the roles were comparable. He only discovered he was being paid less than depot employees by hearing about their pay on the grapevine when some colleagues transferred. “I think there is an old-fashioned idea that working on a checkout, for example, is easy work. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, That’s Asda price: More than 38,000 workers in equal pay claim, Equal pay day: Meet the women who took on unequal pay, What to do if you’re being paid less than your male colleagues. Asda supermarket workers’ long-running legal battle to receive pay equal to their colleagues who work in the company’s warehouses is being considered in a virtual hearing that got under way at the supreme court. “Asda equal pay dispute goes to UK supreme court in virtual hearing”, 13 July 2020. Supermarket giant Asda has lost an appeal in the latest development in a long-running legal dispute with staff over equal pay. There has been a lot of apprehension about the potential sale of Asda, but after months of speculation, Asda is … Independent experts visited Asda branches to compare the roles of workers on the Asda shop floor, who are mostly women, and those who work in the supermarket giant's distribution centre, who are mostly men. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. However even if the supreme court justices rule in the workers’ favour, Leigh Day lawyers say their battle for equal pay will not end, as the shop employees will still have to show that the retail and distribution roles are of equal value. If they win, Asda could be forced to shell out huge back pay, according to reports, and other supermarkets could face similar claims. Leigh Day estimates it could see payouts of around £8bn to 500,000 eligible staff. What the sale of Asda means for the Equal Pay claim. That’s Asda price: Why more than 35,000 women are bringing the UK’s largest equal pay claim against the supermarket. “We aren’t back in the 18th century, we’re 20th-century people, why are we being treated so unequally?” she says. Asda retail workers fighting for equal pay have overcome another hurdle in the legal process following a judgment handed down by the Employment Tribunal last week. Janice*, 74, from County Durham, another claimant who worked in the supermarket recalls “so much tension” when Asda opened a large warehouse in Washington, Tyne and Wear because there was an awareness of the pay grades being different – a fact established through water cooler chat and interconnected local communities. Tesco shop floor workers to appeal latest equal pay decision. Leigh Day has said if the five supermarkets lose the cases brought by the workers, they could be facing backdated pay claims totalling £8bn. Now Arundale wants back pay that she feels she is entitled to – especially as she has no pension to speak of – to compensate for the years of disproportionate earnings to those in the depot who she says were doing the same work, just in a different location mainly staffed by men. “I know the work they do in the depot and it’s probably less onerous than what I did on the roads. In the week commencing 13 January 2020, Manchester Employment Tribunal ruled that supermarket retailer Asda’s job descriptions for predominantly female shop floor employees ‘did not go far enough as to acquiring and using knowledge’ for the purposes of comparison in its ongoing equal pay dispute. Historically I think they thought they could get away with not paying women as much…. More than 30,000 store workers at Leeds-based Asda, have brought equal pay claims after complaining that ... 2020, 10:32am. The retailer is asking five justices of the UK’s highest court to overturn earlier rulings, including a 2019 verdict by the court of appeal that found in favour of the shop workers and said they could compare themselves to the higher-paid depot workers. Leigh Day SRA no. About 35,000 mainly female supermarket workers are fighting for pay parity with the retailer’s mostly male depot staff. The dispute is seen as a landmark case, and the outcome will have repercussions for about 8,000 workers at other supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Morrisons, who are also engaged in equal pay disputes with their employers. Yes they’re loading stuff onto vans and that is physical work but so is lugging one hundred loads of customer shopping around the byways of Northamptonshire in the bad weather,” he adds. Retail and distribution are two different industry sectors and we pay colleagues the market rates for these sectors.”. Many current claims are for over £10, 000 or about £1,700 for every year worked at ASDA (up to the maximum of 6 years). Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Dear Colleagues, GMB members in ASDA that have not yet enquired about an equal pay claim should contact their GMB store rep or GMB Regional Office who will provide you with information about how you do that.. We will put you in contact with our solicitors, Leigh Day, and take their advice on submitting your claim for equal pay against ASDA. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. About 35,000 retail workers, the majority of whom are women, have filed claims asking to be paid the same as the predominantly male staff who work in [Asda’s]…distribution depots, and who receive a higher wage. On 13 and 14 July, five Supreme Court justices listened as Asda argued its case – that there is no equal pay issue to answer. Lord Pannick QC, who is leading Asda’s legal team, told the justices on Monday the case depended on whether the store workers were “in the same employment” as those at the firm’s distribution depots. Date: 21/09/2020. The first UK supermarket to face equal pay claims on differences in pay between shop workers and distribution staff was Asda, which has been fighting a long-running legal dispute over the issue. But with the Supreme Court marking the last chance for Asda to argue the roles are not comparable, and three rulings in favour of the workers already on the books, we could be about to witness a watershed moment. Whilst we respect the rights of retail workers to bring this case, we fundamentally disagree with its premise and will continue to make our arguments clear. 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